Play, leisure and anthropology
Play: a cultural activity that is
framed or highlighted from
other activities of ordinary life
--Separate from other activities
--Limited
--Structured
--With specific rules
--Element of tension and change
Metacommunication
Communication about
communication
Play:Two kinds of
Metacommunication
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Framing:
--sense of separation
--out of ordinary life
Reflexivity:
--(conscious of being conscious)
--aware of our actions
The Functions of Play
• Exercise
• Rehearsal for life
• Microcosm of culture
• Spiritual quest
What do we learn by studying
play and leisure activities?
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Cultural relations
Intercultural relations
Social status
Individual and group goals
Cultural and social identity
Social patterns
Leisure and play: between
pleasure and pain
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Blood sports
--boxing, extreme fights
What is in it for the player?
--Money? Prestige?
Why do spectators like to watch bloody sports?
Cultural identity?
--Personal satisfaction?
Leisure travel
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From core to peripheral nations
Marketing of exotic others and exotic lands
Selling fantasies, desires
Pristine way of life
Authentic cultures
Transformation of cultural forms influenced by
tourism
Change in Expressive culture is
universal
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Influences go both ways
--globalization of mass media
--african music and art
Latin dance and Music
Asian performances
Cultural Syncretism:
when a cultural activity is influenced
by or appropriated into the cultural
fabric of another culture
Conclusion
Expressive culture comprises art, leisure
activities and play
Anthropologists look at expressive culture in
order to learn about social and cultural
interactions
Discussion question
1. Do you think that the introduction of sports in
the colonies, in order to suppress tribal warfare,
was a good thing or just another form of
colonialism?
2. Could you think of an example of play that
reinforces or is a microcosm of cultural values in
a region of Canada or in another culture?
Play: a cultural activity that is
framed or highlighted from
other activities of ordinary life.